Forbidden Episodes
by LadyNightRunner
Summary: The little stories that you never see, but wonder about. How did Noah lose his body? What happened to Ryou's arm? Did Noah ever come back? These questions are answered.
1. What happened to Ryou's arm?

My own interpretation of Bakura's confrontation with Marik, just how that injury to his arm occurred, and how they got him so sick.

* * *

_ Why did I do it? What in Ra's name possessed me to do such a thing? To damage such a pure, innocent thing is surely a crime. Ugh, I'm becoming sentimental. Still, if such an opportunity presented itself now, would I take it? Could I spill the blood of my hikari again?_

Such were the thoughts that ran through the troubled mind of Bakura, former Egyptian tomb robber, as he wandered the streets. He wasn't too happy about heading for home, because Ryou's father was coming for a visit. For one thing, to see an almost exact duplicate of his son in the house would surely scare the pants off the man, and he didn't want to be present for the hugging, the "I missed you"s, or the stories of what had gone on since they'd last seen each other. So what if it was raining? The rain was a warm, gentle drizzle, nothing to worry about. What he _was_ worrying about was if he was trustworthy. He'd willingly spilt the blood of his other half, while he still inhabited his body. The thought of what he'd done never bothered him, at least, not until he had his own body again. With his own body came the memories of everything he'd done in Ryou's body, and he felt extremely guilty. The remembrance of that particular spilling of blood, the Battle City incident, was fresh in his mind, an unshakeable burden that had stayed with him all day. It resurfaced now, like a tape being played over and over in his head, with someone else holding the control.

_ Flashback Bakura stood in the narrow mouth of an alley, his back to the street, facing the motorcycle that approached. He'd been watching this for a while, and knew that Marik passed through this very alley each day, at this time. The bike came to a halt about ten feet in front of him. _

"_You're in my way." Marik growled, pulling his helmet off and dismounting, approaching the male who blocked the passage. _

"_You have something I want, Marik." _

"_The Millennium Rod? Is that what you're after? And how do you know my name?" _

"_Yes, the Rod is my goal. Tomb robbers know these things." _

"_You can have the Rod, but I need your help in getting something myself." _

"_Perhaps there is a way we can work together." Bakura agreed. A bright, fiery blue aura became visible around him. A purple aura, quite like Bakura's, made an appearance around Marik as well. A tendril of the flame stretched across from both boys, meeting in the middle with a flash. This was one of the most sincere ways of swearing trust. _

"_This is going to take some discussion." Marik commented after the aura's faded away. _

"_I'm sure." Marik straddled the seat of his motorcycle, while Bakura perched on the back wheel. _

"_What is it you're after?" Bakura wanted to know; choosing to ignore the odd look Marik gave him when he saw the white-haired boy's choice of seating. _

"_The three Egyptian God Cards. I have one in my possession as of now. Yugi holds _Slifer the Sky Dragon_, and Kaiba wields _Obelisk the Tormentor_. I need to get those cards." _

"_How do you propose getting them?" _

"_I'm entered in the Battle City Finals. What I need to do is get closer to Yugi and his foolish friends." _

"_And the point of doing this is…what?" _

"_My most trusted servant is taking my name and copies of both my Rod and the God Card I have: _The Winged Dragon of Ra_. I want them to believe me to be a friend, so that they don't anticipate the cards I have, the _God Card_ in particular." _

"_I think I know how you can do that." Bakura already had a perfect plan in mind. _

"_HOW?" _

"_The quickest way to gain the trust of Yugi and his friends is to help one of them in some way. The best way to do that would be to 'find' one of them when he or she was hurt and unable to get help on their own." _

"_And how am I supposed to get a hold of one of them without them seeing me or my followers? If they know that there's Millennium magic behind the trouble, they'll be wary." _

"_You've got one right here." _

"_What?"_

"_My host body, Ryou, is close friends with Yugi and his pals. And I know just what to do as well."_

"_I'm liking this. Go on." Bakura grinned when he saw the eager light glowing in Marik's eyes. This teenager shared his love of the wrong and the dark. _

"_If we combine the powers of our two items with an incantation I know, we can give a cut the effect it would have if it was left to go bad and get infected for several weeks." _

"_Sounds good to me. Lets get to it."_

"_I've got a knife with me." Bakura volunteered, pulling the knife from the waist sheath that he hid beneath his shirt._

"_I've got one too. I'll bet the magic will hold better if the cut is made by one of the items. My Rod has a dagger in the handle."_

"_Show it." Marik nodded and slid a long, lethal looking blade from the base of the Rod. From the tip to the base, it was nearly twelve inches long, meaning it resided within almost the entire length of the Rod itself. The blade was strong, the same metal as the rest of the items, completely indestructible. It was slim enough to slip between a pair of ribs, but thick enough to inflict fatal injuries if needed. Bakura grinned; he hadn't seen such a blade since his time in Egypt. _

"_That will serve most admirably. Here, cut away." He pushed up the sleeve over the upper part of his right arm, baring the skin to the blade. _

"_Here goes." Bakura saw the flash of light on metal, then felt the knife pierce his skin. _

"_Well done." He commented, giving the cut a quick inspection. It was just over six inches long, clean enough to have been inflicted by a knife, but ragged enough both to cause infection and to have been done by an inexperienced gangster. "Now, for the magic" Marik nodded, holding out the Rod. Bakura took it and placed the head of the Rod at the center of his Ring. "Hold that there." Marik obeyed. After carefully positioning the middle point of his Ring over the cut, Bakura began a soft Egyptian chant. A sickly green glow emanated from the Items, then flowed onto the wound. Bakura gritted his teeth against a scream of pain. The process hurt more then anything he'd ever felt. After several minutes, the light faded, and a powerful force pushed the Items apart. Bakura staggered, both from the slight drain the incantation had put on him, and the effect it had on the injury. The cut was now clearly infected. Without warning, Bakura's stomach twisted, and he doubled over in pain. Marik, concerned for his partner, moved closer. _

"_Are you alright?" He asked. _

"_I think I'm going to be sick." Bakura squeaked. Marik was thankful that he was behind the Tomb Robber when he did just that, for two reasons: One, Bakura couldn't be sick on him. Two, he could support the boy and keep his hair out of the way. When he'd finished, Bakura straightened shakily and wiped his mouth. Marik, sensing that it was safe to release his companion, got a water bottle out of his bag and gave it to Bakura. The teen rinsed his mouth and handed the bottle back. _

"_Thanks." He mumbled. _

"_No problem. How are you feeling?"_

"_Seasick. And I have a major headache." Marik winced._

"_Well, lets go."_

"_Wait. We can't get away with this just yet." Bakura collected some dirt in his hands and streaked both his skin and clothing with it, then spread his arms, standing with his feet about shoulder-width apart. "Hit me." He instructed._

"_Huh?"_

"_I said, hit me."_

"_Why?"_

"_Because. If I don't look beaten, we won't get away with this. Just no face shots, no groin hits, and nothing to my stomach. I really don't want to be sick again." Marik hesitated. Bakura looked bad enough as it was, pale and sickly. Bakura realized that his companion wasn't going to do it willingly, and came up with a new idea. "Hit me, you spoiled, coddled excuse for an Egyptian brat!" Marik's eyes widened in shock, then narrowed in anger. Bakura grinned. When all else failed, insulting your opponent's home nation always worked. Marik roared angrily and charged. It took all Bakura had to keep from falling over, due to the furious barrage of punches the young man delivered. "All right, that's good. I'm sorry I insulted you, but it was the only way to make you do what I wanted." _

"_I understand. Whoa!" Marik leaped backward as Bakura retched, then bent double, clutching his stomach, and was violently sick again. Marik sighed, and carefully held the smaller male up until he was finished. "Are you sure this is a good idea? If you puke out on the street, someone will haul you to a hospital before we get to Yugi and his friends." Marik cautioned. Bakura gave him the finger as he accepted the water bottle again._

"_Even if it happens again, there isn't anything left in my stomach, so it'll just be dry heaves. Don't worry so much. What are you worrying about anyway?" Bakura eyed the tanned blonde. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you looked scared. And…of what are you afraid? Certainly not me?" Marik swallowed and shifted nervously._

"_Not of you, but for you."_

"_Come again?"_

"_I'm not scared of you, I'm scared for you." _

"_What do you mean?"_

"_Well…um...I…well...j-j-just…what we did to your arm…what it did to your body…maybe…it could…er…be more…serious then we…um…then we think. I-I-I-I mean…y'know…the way it's…um…a-a-affecting you. M-m-m-m-maybe we should…should…should…um…take you to a… to a…"_

"_To a what?"_

"_A hospital." Marik mumbled, and regretted it immediately._

"_Take me to a hospital! Are you crazy?" Bakura shrieked._

"_N-n-no. Why would that be a bad thing?" Bakura sighed, knowing he would now have to explain._

"_I'd have to relinquish my hold on Ryou until after he was well again. No doubt his father would be contacted, and he would instinctively know that I was not his son. If I gave control of this body back to Ryou while in the hospital, he would panic. He has a mortal terror of hospitals, and only enters them when it is absolutely necessary. He would probably get rid of me in the process as well."_

"_Oh."_

"_Oh is right. Now, are we going to find Yugi's friends or not?" _

"_Yeah, just let me wrap that cut first. If someone sees it, we're back to square one." Grudgingly, Bakura submitted to having his arm wrapped in a rough cloth bandage. "Okay, done. Can you walk on your own, or do you need help?"_

"_I can walk on my own." Bakura growled. He took a wobbly step toward the street, and nearly fell. In fact, he would've, had Marik not caught him at the last minute. "Ow. Fast movements are not a good idea." The thief moaned, putting a hand to his head._

"_Lean on my shoulder. I'm sure it won't do permanent damage to your reputation if you allow me to help you for a short while."_

"_Fine." Bakura grumbled. Marik bent and pulled Bakura's arm over his own shoulder._

"_Let's go." He said, to cheerily for Bakura's liking._

"_Oh joy."_

_ 15 minutes later "I have to release Ryou now. We're to close for me to be in control." Bakura warned._

"_Okay." A nearly unnoticeable flash of light later, Bakura's face had morphed into the gentle, innocent features of Ryou._

"_Uuuhhnn" he groaned._

"_What? Are you all right?" Marik asked._

"_I don't feel well." Ryou whimpered. It seemed that he had a lower tolerance for pain then his dark side did._

"_How bad do you feel?" Marik questioned. Mentally, he slapped himself. He sounded like a woman! Still, he felt rather guilty for what he and Bakura had done. Ryou's response was a miserable moan. "Are you going to throw up?" he asked urgently. _

"_I-I-I think so." Ryou mumbled. Marik shot toward the closest alley, hauling Ryou along with him. Just in time too. Almost as soon as they were out of sight in the alley, Ryou doubled over and vomited for the third time that afternoon. Marik sighed and pulled the water bottle from one of the pockets in his loose cargo pants._

"_Here." Ryou nodded his thanks and rinsed his mouth._

_  
"Who are you? What happened to me?" He asked, fear prominent in his voice._

"_I'm a friend. I guess you got beat up, judging by your appearance. Someone cut your arm, and it got infected." _

"_Where are you taking me?" _

"_To find someone who knows you. They'll be able to take better care of you than I can." Ryou nodded, and leaned his full weight on Marik, who headed back toward the street. End Flashback_

"Hey! Bakura!" the low rumble of a motorcycle grew nearer. Bakura turned and quickly closed his eyes to the bright light from the headlights. Mercifully, the lights dimmed, and a figure dressed in helmet and raincoat dismounted and approached him. Despite his current mood, Bakura couldn't help but smile. He knew that walk anywhere, just as he knew the bike, and the approaching person. "Isn't it a bit cold to be out here?"

"Really Marik. It's just a gentle rain, warm even. Nothing to worry about."

"You really have been out here a while. Check out the weather now." Bakura suddenly became aware of the change in weather. The rain was cold, driven down and sideways by an icy wind. He sneezed and swore. The chilly air was aggravating the cold that he was just getting over. _Or, _hethought ruefully, _that I _was_ getting over. _"Ryou called me and told me to find you. You can stay at my place tonight."

"I really couldn't inconvenience- ACHOO!" he said, but was interrupted by another sneeze.

"You're gonna catch your death out here. Come now, just get on the bike. I insist." Bakura sighed and raised his hands in mock defeat, then headed for the bike.

"Well? I'm waiting." He said, straddling the back of the bike and staring at his friend. Marik grinned and came over, hopping up to sit in front of Bakura.

"No riding without your hands, do you hear me? Put your arms around my waist and don't let go." Normally, the former tomb robber would've protested, but, seeing as he was cold and wet, just sneezed and obeyed. "Good boy." Marik said, laughing when Bakura tried to say something, no doubt something rude, and sneezed instead. The blonde kicked the motor into life, and they roared away. After a moment of thought, Bakura decided that he could probably get something out of this, other than another cold. He sneezed again and leaned on Marik's back. He grew quite comfortable quickly, and was rather sorry when they came to a halt in front of the Ishtar residence. "C'mon 'Kura. Lets get inside. I'm frozen." Bakura stumbled as he dismounted, and Marik had to catch him.

"Thanks." He said, and leaned on the taller male's shoulder, eyes half closed, enjoying the closeness.

"Ishizu! I'm home! And I've got Bakura with me!" Ishizu came into the hall, saw the two standing there, and enveloped them both in a tight hug. Bakura sneezed, and she released them.

"You're both soaked! Get upstairs and shower. Go on, shoo!"

"We're shooing!" Marik said, dragging Bakura toward the stairs, shedding helmet and raincoat on the way. "We don't need a pushy girl telling us what to do." Ishizu tried to hit him. He dodged, and hauled Bakura up the stairs, both of them laughing.

"I'll get you later little brother!" Marik didn't hear, as he was already in his bedroom.

"Here. You can use these pajamas. They should fit, since I'm not that much bigger then you."

"Mmhm." Bakura mumbled, taking the clothes and chuckling at the pattern, silver stars and moons on a navy blue background. "Didn't I give these to you?"

"Yep. They're my favorites." Bakura grinned, and followed Marik down the hall to the bathroom. Marik got the hot water going while Bakura collected towels. When he returned, both boys stripped and got into the shower, a big custom-made thing with a sort of bench along one side, which was where the shampoo and soap sat. "You want to go first?" Marik asked, picking up a bottle of shampoo.

"Sure. Why not?" Bakura responded, taking the bottle. "Turn around." Marik obeyed, turning his back on the tomb robber. Happy to spend time with his lover, Bakura began shampooing Marik's hair. He'd finished, and Marik was halfway through doing his hair when the door opened, someone yelped, and the door slammed shut again.

"What was that?" Marik asked. Bakura shrugged, and they resumed their activities.

Downstairs Ishizu heard the slammed door upstairs and counted down from ten. As she reached zero, Malik skidded into the kitchen, looking absolutely appalled. "Are you alright Malik?" she asked, trying hard not to laugh. "Is something wrong?" The boy nodded.

"Did you know that Marik and Bakura are in the shower?"

"Yes."

"Together?"

"I wasn't sure, but I assumed so."

"Why didn't anyone warn me that my hikari has a boyfriend? I really didn't need to see that."

"Don't worry about it. Maybe now you'll knock before entering."

"Haha. Very funny sis."

Later "Marik! Are you out of the shower yet?" Ishizu called.

"Yes!" Ishizu headed upstairs, and entered her younger brother's room. Marik was just finishing combing Bakura's hair, and it was clear, from the unusual sleekness of Marik's hair, that Bakura had already done the same for him. "Hi sis. Did you need something?"

"Just making sure you were getting to bed. Did you even know that Malik walked in on you two?"

"He did?" Marik and Bakura said together.

"Yup. He asked why nobody told him that his hikari had a boyfriend. Don't worry, he's not going to reject you."

"Serves him right. He should learn to knock." Marik commented. Bakura sneezed in agreement.

"Okay you two. Bed. Now." Marik stuck his tongue out at his older sister, tried to duck the playful punch she threw at him, and received an equally playful poke in the ribs.

"Hey!" he squeaked, turning and looking and Bakura, who grinned sheepishly. Marik dived at him, and Ishizu grabbed his ankle, pulling him to the other side of the bed.

"What did I just say?"

"Sorry. 'Night 'shizu."

"G'night Ishizu. Thanks for letting me spend the night."

"Good night." Ishizu pulled the blankets over the two figures already curled up together in the middle of the bed and placed a sisterly kiss on both of their foreheads. She then turned the light off and left, closing the door behind her.

"Good night love." Marik whispered in Bakura's ear. Bakura sneezed and responded

"Sweet dreams." He rolled over and shared a long, open-mouth kiss with Marik. Both were asleep quickly.

Next morning "Marik! Bakura! Time to get up!" the Egyptian boys both groaned and pulled their pillows over their faces, trying to ignore Ishizu's voice and get a few extra minutes of sleep. "I'm warning you. If I don't hear some movement, I'll send Malik and Odion up there!"

"We'd better get up." Marik commented. "Odion knows some very creative, very unpleasant ways of getting me up."

"Like what?" Bakura asked, sitting up."

"Have you ever been thrown into the harbor before the sun's up?"

"I'm up!" Marik grinned at the exuberant call his lover voiced, and pulled Bakura into his lap.

"So. How's your cold this morning?" he asked, nuzzling Bakura's left ear affectionately.

"Gone. I feel perfectly fine." Bakura laughed when Marik sneezed. "It seems, however, that you caught it from me."

"I'll get you for this. Just you wait."

"Oh? Why do I have to wait? You're usually so quick with revenge." Bakura commented, pulling on a pair of Marik's jeans and tossing a second pair at the blonde.

"Once Ishizu finds out that I'm sick, she'll keep me in the house 'till I'm well again." Marik grumbled, putting the pants on and tossing a T-shirt at Bakura, then getting one for himself.

"Well, I guess I'll have to keep you company." Bakura said.

"Maybe being sick won't be quite so bad." Marik jumped up, poked Bakura in the ribs, and raced out the bedroom door.

_ Maybe having my own body again won't be so bad after all. _Bakura thought, running after Marik.

END


	2. Noah lives again!

**Here's a story for all you Noah lovers out there. Did Noah ever return to Seto and Mokuba? This tells how our favorite virtual maniac got a body again. Will have a sequel.**

* * *

"Ack!" _Whump, Whump, Whump, Whump, Thud._

"Seto! Noah fell down the stairs again!"

"Noah! Are you alright?"

"Just bruised. Ouch, right into the bookshelf too. Uh-oh. Seto! Help!" _Bang_

"Setooooo! The bookshelf fell over!" Mokuba yelled. He didn't need to yell. His older brother, the brunette one, rounded the corner and surveyed the scene before him. Mokuba was sitting on the stairs giggling, and his non-identical twin, Noah, was lying on the floor at the foot of the stairs, surrounded by books and pinned underneath a heavy bookshelf.

"_How_ did you manage this?" Seto asked, crouching down to look Noah in the eye.

"I forgot that I actually have a body. On top of that, I was daydreaming while I was walking down the hall and didn't see the stairs." Noah used his best 'I'm really sorry' look. Seto groaned.

"Honestly, if you weren't my brother you would be in sooooooo much trouble. Hold still." The brunette got a good grip on the edge of the bookcase and slowly stood up again, taking the restraining object with him. Noah scrambled out from underneath and hurried to help his brother stand the shelving up again.

"Please note: If you weren't my brother, I wouldn't be here in the first place." Noah pointed out, collecting an armful of books and putting them back on the shelf. "And if you weren't my brother, I probably wouldn't be so clumsy to begin with."

"Blame that on Mokuba, not me." Seto growled, bonking Noah on the head with a rolled up copy of _National Geographic_.

"Who was the one who managed to get _super-glued_ to his crawler? Who got the syrup to explode all over himself? Who managed to turn his hair green for three weeks? YOU, not me." Mokuba pointed out. Seto stuck his tongue out at his little brother.

"That was accidental, not clumsiness."

"Okay. How 'bout when you managed to trip over three chairs, an end table, and the couch on your way from the living room to the kitchen in _broad daylight? _Or when you did a major belly flop in the pool? Or when-"

"ENOUGH ALREADY! Fine. Noah got his clumsiness from me. Are you happy now squirt?" Noah and Mokuba laughed. "Humph. No respect, even from my own brothers!" Seto stomped out of the room.

"You really love to get him before he's had his coffee in the morning, don't you?" Noah asked, replacing the last of the books in their respective places.

"Yup. He's funny when he's only half awake."

"I agree with you on that!"

/Later that day-about 3:00-3:30 pm/ Noah lay sprawled out on his bed, enjoying, for the umpteenth time, the feeling of actually having a body again. His mind wandered back to when the chain of events that led to his 'resurrection' had been started…

_/18 months ago/ "I hate spring cleaning." Seto Kaiba grumbled, scooping up a stack of CD's and flopping down in front of his computer with them. Two hours later, he had gotten through 28 of them, and there was one left. The brunette slipped the disk into the computer and waited for the information to appear on screen. What happened instead was quite a shock. The screen turned black, and white lettering began appearing on it. The real shock, however, was what the text said:_

Greetings Seto! I was starting to wonder if you'd _ever _load this disk!_ Seto gaped. Rather startled, he typed a response:_

)Noah? Is that you?(

)Who did you think it was? I did say that I'd be back, didn't I?(

)But…in my computer?(

)I transferred all of my data onto the database of your blimp before you left. How long has it been since then?(

)Nearly three years.(

)How are Yugi and the others?(

)You'd be surprised.(

)Try me.(

)I'll get Mokuba instead( _This turned out to be a biiiiig mistake. Mokuba proceeded to practically sink roots at that computer. For the first week of this, Seto thought long and hard about what he could do. Despite the fact that Noah had originally tried to kill him and the other participants of the _Battle City Finals_, he'd turned for the good and had helped them escape both the virtual world he'd created, and from the clutches of Gozaburo Kaiba. Seto groaned. To add to the problem, Noah was family, and that did mean something. He spent the rest of spring break going over all possible ways of bringing the boy back to the real world. Finally, at 1:27am, a pop-up add for group of scientists who were trying to find a financial backer for their cloning services appeared on the screen. Intrigued, Seto clicked on it. By 7:30 that morning, he'd arranged for a meeting with the men. By the same time the next day, they were working on a plan to create an actual human body. Since Seto didn't want a copy of himself or of Mokuba walking around, the plan was to splice his DNA with Mokuba's. This would create a being that looked something like the Kaiba brothers, a fitting appearance, seeing as Noah was their brother, though it was by adoption, rather than blood. Then, he got an idea…_

_Gozaburo had had the odd habit of keeping reminders of his triumphs, as well as things he mourned. When his wife died, he had the bones of her left hand and her wedding ring brought to him, and then had created a wire framework. For the rest of his life, his wife's hand, wearing her wedding band, had sat on his desk. Seto bet that, due to his adoptive father's tendency to do things the same, and the attachment he'd had to his only child, that there might be a part of Noah in the office. He grimaced. He hadn't reentered that office after Gozaburo's disappearance. Cursing and swearing under his breath, he dug the key out of his safe, and entered the room. He found what he was looking for immediately. A glass sphere rested on the desk. Inside the glass was a lock of sea-green hair, and silver letters that spelled out Noah's full name (Noah James Kaiba) his birth date (June 15, 1987), and the date he'd been lost. Also, a single line: _'We never know how precious our children are until we lose them'.

_Smiling at this line, Kaiba took the memento to the lab. The hair was removed and analyzed, and then DNA was taken from it. Mokuba and Seto both gave blood for DNA of their own, though Mokuba had no clue about what was going on. While the scientists began work, with all the technology and funds of KaibaCorp at their fingertips, Seto drew up new paperwork for Noah, calling him his twin brother, since that was the age Noah's body was going to be. In the lab, under the careful watch of some of the best cloning experts to be found, Noah's new body grew and developed at high speed. After it was decided to be the proper age, the growing process would be slowed back to normal for an eighteen year-old. The only disadvantage would be that Noah was going to hit all the things a normal teenage boy hits at 13-16 when he lived again. Voice change, added muscle; in short: puberty. Excited beyond all reason, and without explanation, Seto told Noah that he was going to be downloaded into a mobile body in three days. Noah immediately made the computer screen bloom in a display of gorgeous virtual fireworks. Seto laughed, and then transferred Noah from the computer game he'd been in (so he could play with Mokuba) onto a disk. Mokuba was a tad annoyed that his playmate couldn't play, but was cheered up by the fact that Noah would be walking in three days. _

_The day came. Noah's body had been prepared, and all that remained was for his mind to be uploaded into it. Seto slipped the disk into its slot, and clicked 'download.' A gentle hum announced the completion of the process. Praying that something hadn't gone wrong, Seto walked slowly over to Noah and shook his shoulder. Noah squeaked in shock and sat bolt upright, grabbing Seto's wrist. Then he stopped. He lifted his hands and stared at them. Then his hands went to his face, and he felt his features in disbelief. _

"_I have…you made…a body…a real body." He whispered, he voice shaky. When he said it, his hand went to his throat. "I can…my voice...you…how…I'm real…not a robotic body…human…me."_

"_You got it. And know you're my blood-brother, instead of an adoptive sibling." Noah smiled, his eyes filling up with tears._

"_I…I have a family again." He murmured. Then, he threw himself at Seto, hugging him frantically as tears poured down his cheeks. Seto smiled, hugging back. He knew some of the things Noah cried for: he was alive again; he had a family that loved him. He'd never been able to cry when he lost his body, when his father forgot him, when Gozaburo used him as a pawn. Now, he could. And he did. And Seto held him through it._

_Later, Seto got Noah to hold still long enough for the completion of the legal records. Noah had been missing, he was legally Seto's twin, non-identical yes, but related through blood. As it turned out, Noah got the best qualities from his brother's DNA. After he quit growing, he stood as tall as Seto, a full 6 foot 4 inches. His hair, no longer the rather peculiar shade of green it had been, was a rich honey color. His eyes were the same sapphire shade that both of the Kaiba brothers had, and close to the color that Noah had had before. He preferred to keep his hair at the same length he 'd always had, and he liked it that way. It took awhile for him to stop tripping over his own feet and the like, but it was worth watching. Noah was so happy with being alive that nothing else, except his family, mattered to him. He had a real life, and that was what was important. /End Flashback/_

Noah smiled to himself. It had been three years since he'd gotten a real body, and he never got over the joy of actually having one again. He still goofed sometimes, ending up in odd predicaments, like getting stuck in a large bush, upside-down. Still, he had friends, a family, and a body. "Noah! Dinner's ready! Get down here!" Seto yelled. Noah grinned and ran out of the room. When he got to the stairs, he vaulted expertly over the rail and landed with a thud on the lower floor. After dinner had been eaten and the dishes had been washed, with a break for a towel-snapping war, the three brothers could be found in a comfortable heap on the floor in the living room, in front of the fire. They were flipping through a photo album, the one that had been started to keep track of the creation of Noah's body, and had been transformed into a book of memories. Pictures in here all had something to do with Noah. The following is a list of a selection of snapshots from the book:

Seto dressed up like a clown, a bribe he'd used to convince Noah to leave the house to hang out with Yugi and company.

Noah, about to be tossed into the pool by Duke and Tristan, followed by another picture of Noah in mid-air.

Noah caught under the mistletoe and being kissed by Rebecca Hawkins. He's blushing like crazy.

A group photo of the three brothers, posing together at a ski resort in the US

Another group photo, this one of the rest of the group (Yugi and everyone else) dog piling Noah and Seto.

Noah and Seto together at the Senior Prom, making faces at being stuck in dressy clothes.

Noah and Yugi, wrestling, followed by several pictures of the mayhem that stemmed from the game, including the other boys from the group getting involved, and the two being hung from the rafters at the Kaiba place by their ankles.

Noah tackling Roland, and the next image of Noah being given a noogie by the big man, and then of Seto yelling at Roland, Noah giving his twin puppy eyes, and the three laughing fit to burst.

And lastly, a picture of everyone at the beach the previous summer.


	3. How I died: the true story

**Just what happened to Noah? What was the mysterious accident that caused him to lose his body? Here's my opinion. Please note: This isn't really a sequel to Ch2, just an idea of what happened. Don't flame me. Note: blah> thought**

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* * *

-Flashback- 'How did you lose your body? You never told us.' Noah bit his lip, wondering whether he ought to give a truthful reply, or be sarcastic. Sarcasm won. 'I lost a game of poker.' He spat, and walked away. It was nearly three months later when he again spoke to Tristan -End Flashback-_

Snow fell softly, muffling Domino City in a blanket of white. Noah Kaiba wandered moodily down the sidewalk in the direction of home. Life was difficult for a teenager who was adoptive, non-identical twin brother to Mokuba Kaiba. His childhood had been coming back to haunt him in recent weeks, turning even the best day into a dark, gloomy existence. Not the childhood he'd lead in the computer, but the life he'd had before then. As well as this came the memories of how bitter he'd been when he'd first had a body again. Yugi and his friends had done their best to make him feel welcome, and he'd rejected them. Maybe it was because they were, in body at least, older then he. After all, he now had the body of an eighteen year-old, while Seto, Yugi, Tea, and everyone else were in their

mid-twenties, attending college, starting families, running businesses. He was just a teen, with only Mokuba, who understood him better than most, as his sole source of friendship. He thought over that question Tristan had asked so long ago, and he remembered the answer………

_Flashback "Where are you going Noah?" Noah froze in mid-skip, turning to look his father in the eye._

"_Out to play." For just a moment, he saw a flicker of light in his father's cold eyes, and then it was gone. Gozaburo Kaiba stared down at his ten-year-old son._

"_Be back for dinner. And **don't** get messy." _

"_Yes father." Noah nodded to his father and walked quickly and quietly out the door. He only resumed his happy skipping when his father, and the doorway, was out of sight. This isn't fair Nosh thought unhappily, as he made his way across the grounds to his favorite oak tree. Father always makes rules, and I never get to go outside, past the walls. Never ever. To get to the tree, Noah had to go across the driveway and past the big iron gates, the gates with the tiny little wall-door beside it, for when Mama went for walks. But today, there was something different. The big gate wasn't closed completely. There was enough space for a determined child to squeeze through, if he tried. And Noah did. After a few minutes of careful wiggling, he found himself on the sidewalk outside the walls. An overwhelming feeling of joy welled up inside him. He thought for a moment, and then trotted down the sidewalk, heading east. It would be a while before anyone noticed his absence, and even longer before they looked out here._

_/Several hours later/ "Master Noah! Where are you?" Several servants raced through the grounds, searching for the errant child._

"_Have you found him?"_

"_No Master Kaiba, but we have an idea of where he may have gone."_

"_Gone? Why would he have gone?"_

"_Sir, the…the gates were open, and we think he went outside them."_

"_He left the grounds! Go look for him!"_

"_Yessir." The man ran off._

_/Elsewhere/ Noah wandered happily. For a ten-year-old boy who had never been outside his home, this was paradise. He decided to go look at the puppies in a window across the street. He'd just barely gotten across the road several other times, but he wasn't worried. Not bothering to look to either side, he skipped to the other side. After all, it had worked multiple times already. Not this time. A car rounded the curve father up the road. It was going way over the speed limit, not that the driver or passengers were aware of it. They were completely drunk, and never saw the short boy in the road._

_Noah looked up at the sound of blaring music and saw the car. _**'THUD'** _the car hit Noah's body with a sound like a hammer hitting a piece of meat. The car sped on, its occupants not knowing what had happened…_

"_Oh My God! They just hit that kid!" a crowd of people rushed out into the street. Noah lay in a pool of his own blood, both legs and one arm twisted into sickening positions, his chest rising and falling sluggishly, breath wheezing as he fought for air with the restrictions that crushed ribs and a slowly collapsing lung placed on him. A dribble of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. _

"_Kid? Kid, can you hear me?"_

"_Papa." Noah whispered, and then the merciful blackness of unconsciousness swallowed him, and he knew no more._

_/Unknown time, place, or date/ Papa? Where am I?> Noah thought_

"_Is there anything you can do for him?" Noah recognized the voice. It was his father's. What was going on?_

"_I'm sorry sir. I don't believe, and the other doctors agree with me, that he's likely to live much longer."_

"_No. NO! He'll live!" Noah was more than a little surprised to hear the fear and pitiful hope in Gozaburo's voice. He opened his eyes to see a group of people, all unfamiliar, except for his father, and all looking worried and/or upset. He tried to turn his head to properly see his father, and a white-hot pain lanced through his skull. Noah gave an involuntary moan, and closed his eyes in misery. He'd never known such pain._

"_The pain-killers must be wearing off." Noah just barely registered the sharp bite of a needle before he fell into a deep, dreamless sleep from which he never woke up. /End Flashback/_

"NOAH! What are you doing out here without a jacket! Do you _want_ to get sick!" Noah looked up to see Seto standing in the open doorway, dancing from foot to foot in an effort to keep warm. "Get in here before I turn into a Popsicle!"

"Coming!" Noah yelled, and ran the last few yards to his brother and home.

"Don't scare me like that!" Seto growled, wrapping Noah in a warm embrace and hauling him inside, closing the door with one foot.

"How did I scare you?"

"Mokuba said that you'd gone out, then the storm came up and you weren't back… JUST BECAUSE WE AREN'T RELATED BY BLOOD DOESN'T MEAN YOU CAN GO SCARING THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS OUT OF ME WHENEVER YOU FEEL LIKE IT!" Noah grinned. It was good to be home.

4


End file.
